The Crisis of Zionism

De: Peter Beinart

Narrado por: Lloyd James

Audie Award Nominee, Nonfiction, 2013

Audie Award Nominee, Nonfiction, 2013

A dramatic shift is taking place in Israel and America. In Israel, the deepening occupation of the West Bank is putting Israeli democracy at risk. In the United States, the refusal of major Jewish organizations to defend democracy in the Jewish state is alienating many young liberal Jews from Zionism itself. In the next generation, the liberal Zionist dream - the dream of a state that safeguards the Jewish people and cherishes democratic ideals - may die.

In The Crisis of Zionism, Peter Beinart lays out in chilling detail the looming danger to Israeli democracy and the American Jewish establishment's refusal to confront it. And he offers a fascinating, groundbreaking portrait of the two leaders at the center of the crisis: Barack Obama, America's first "Jewish president", a man steeped in the liberalism he learned from his many Jewish friends and mentors in Chicago; and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who considers liberalism the Jewish people's special curse. These two men embody fundamentally different visions, not just of American and Israeli national interests but of the mission of the Jewish people itself.

Beinart concludes with provocative proposals for how the relationship between American Jews and Israel must change, and with an eloquent and moving appeal for American Jews to defend the dream of a democratic Jewish state before it is too late.

©2012 Peter Beinart (P)2012 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A deeply important book for anyone who cares about Israel." (President Bill Clinton)

"Important and timely for the future of Israel." (Roger Cohen, The New York Times)

"A passionately argued work that will evoke intense debate." ( Booklist)

Best Entry Point for American Beginners…

Like many people in 2024, I’ve been trying to get my arms around the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The history feels impenetrable and it’s very hard to find fair, honest, and reliable sources. This book clearly has a point of view and the author is transparent about believing in Israel as a Jewish state. But he’s also honest about the treatment of the Palestinian people and the actions of the Israeli government. By offering his perspective as an American, his narrative traced through enough familiar events that I felt scaffolded into the larger issues and background.

I think it’s really sad that the best entry point I’ve found for this conflict has ended up being a 12 year old book, but there you have it. I don’t think it’s necessary to agree with the author’s view points or conclusions, it’s enough that I feel like he’s trying to treat the competing interests fairly rather than cherry picking events to root for one side or another.

Solid overview of challenges to peace

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely, this book works great as an audiobook, since Beinart does an excellent job at summarizing key points clearly and succinctly. In terms of the content of the book, Beinart expands from his New York Review of Book article on the growing generational gap between young American Jews whose commitment to liberal values makes them feel alienated from Israel due mainly to its unlibaral occupation. As such, since the 1980s, wealthy right-wingers have hijacked Israeli advocacy in the US to the detriment of Israel, as its misguided policies are counterproductive to both its security and survival (as a Jewish and democratic state).

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

I especially enjoyed Beinart's section on the peace process. He did an excellent job at summarizing the main final-status negotiations and destroyed the myth that the Palestinians are not a partner for peace by outlining their counterproposals during negotiations. He also does an excellent job at highlighting the fact that Likud, and Netanyahu are not really committed to the two-state solution, since Netanyahu really favors a mini-Palestinian state within the West Bank, and if he were really serious about peace, the solution is well known (something close to the Geneva Initiative). As such, his conclusion that settlement products should be boycotted is welcome, as the Israeli government clearly needs to be pressured into finally ending the occupation and establishing a contiguous, viable, Palestinian state.

Have you listened to any of Lloyd James???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Consistent as always, he has a steady pace, clear pronunciation, and nice tempo (not too fast or slow).

More important than ever

I recommend this for anyone wishing to get a greater understanding of the turmoil in Israel/Palestine, but especially to my fellow Jewish Americans. While I do not agree with him on everything, Beinart is very thorough and fair.

Urgent call to save the Jewish state from itself!

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

A new and inspiring Jewish American perspective on the American/Israeli relations. Beinart promotes a proactive role for American Jewry to take a responsible role before the Democratic Jewish state becomes either Jewish or Democratic.

Any additional comments?

As an Israeli, I beg you, please read this book and help save the Zionist dream.

Self Loathing

Author is thoughtful and has many good points and anecdotes. However, he demands more of Jewish people than any other people. Main reasons to reject the overall points are the failure to prove why Americans living in relative comfort have the moral ground to tell Israelis what to do with their country and the inability to prove why boycotting half a million Jews in judea/samaria isn’t antisemitism.

Look how the tables turned

I'm curious about how Peter Beinart feels about this book in 2025. He is not necessarily brave for writing this one as much as he is for writing his most recent one, but the question remains, given that the only explanation for this transformation is that he was misinformed 15 years ago, what empowered him to write a book and pontificate about his Liberal Zionist high morals then? On what basis and with what qualifications? Do his qualifications differ now? Can everyone write a book whenever they have an opinion and write another whenever their opinion changes?
Maybe Beinart ought to write a book about the crisis of liberal moral supremacy and the white (which includes him at least in this context) / Yankee savior complex. Let's go back to the root cause of the problem.